Houston has a way of disarming people who have no intention of staying. I never thought I would, but I’ve lived here almost all my life. I love Houston, precisely because it’s a sleeper city, because it’s unlikely, because it feels like freedom. Larry McMurtrey described this feeling best: “The things most people hated about her were the things I loved…I had had such good of Houston, she had dealt so generously with me, always.” This beloved swamp, filled with cranky, free-thinking sweethearts, saved me from dreary fates in seemingly more glamorous cities. For that I will always be grateful.

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